Nyingchi: China has embarked on the construction of an enormous dam on Tibet's longest river, following approval from the central government in December. This move has raised concerns among India, Bangladesh, and Tibetan rights groups regarding potential impacts on local residents and the environment.
According to Radio Free Asia, the dam's construction is projected to exceed a cost of 1 trillion yuan (US$137 billion). Once completed, it will become the world's largest hydropower dam, anticipated to generate 300 billion kilowatt-hours of power annually. This output will be approximately three times that of China's Three Gorges Dam. The operations are projected to commence sometime in the 2030s.
The commencement ceremony, held over the weekend in Nyingchi, southeastern Tibet, was attended by Premier Li Qiang along with other officials. Experts like Asher have highlighted that such a large-scale project will significantly alter the environmental flows of the river, with larger dams exerting a more pronounced impact on river flows.
Neeraj Singh Manhas, a special adviser on South Asia at Parley Policy Initiative in South Korea, previously noted in December that the dam's construction could impact agriculture, hydropower generation, and the availability of drinking water in India. Seasonal variations in water discharge might exacerbate floods or intensify droughts downstream, thus affecting livelihoods and ecosystems.
During the weekend, the Chinese premier stressed the importance of ecological conservation to prevent environmental damage, as reported by Xinhua. China has historically constructed an estimated 22,000 large dams, contributing to its rapid industrialization and economic growth, accounting for about 40% of the world's total.